Friday, September 6, 2013

Tracking how lawmakers may vote on military action against Syria

It’s been almost a week since President Obama made his announcement in favor of limited military action against Syria, and at that time we looked at what our local lawmakers had been saying recently about the situation.

Lawmakers have been discussing a draft resolution this week, though Congress is not formally in session until this coming Monday, Sept. 9. A vote is expected sometime next week, but it’s still unclear how the majority of members of the House and Senate will vote.

Fortunately, voting math is a favorite obsession of the news media, and it’s been a while since an issue divided lawmakers in such interesting not-along-party-lines ways. The Washington Post’sThe Fix blog has been tracking lawmakers’ positions all week, and takes the liberty of designating some senators and representatives as “leaning no.”

click image

The New York Times has a comprehensive tracker that tallies lawmakers who are for or against a military strike, with the largest percentage still in the “undecided” category. It lets you sort by party and who’s up for re-election in 2014, and includes statements from lawmakers.

click image

According to those two trackers and another from CNN, both Idaho senators will vote against military action and both Washington state senators are still undecided. Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador is also undecided. Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers is listed as undecided by the New York Times and CNN, but “leaning no” on the Washington Post list.